The all-time, absolutely perfect, first-date movie opens here today. I can hear the dialogue now:
Boy: Hi, would you like to go to the movies tonight?
Girl: Sure. Where shall we go?
Boy: It's a new movie. It's called "127 Hours."
Girl: Sounds awfully long. What's it about?
Boy: It's about a guy who cuts his own arm off.
Girl: Sorry, I'm going to wash the dishes and scrub the floor and do the laundry.
The story of Aron Ralston, trapped in a Utah canyon in 2003, is fascinating. Carried along by immense ego and belief in his own ability, he went hiking alone, without telling a soul where he was going, and fell into Blue John Canyon, dislodging just enough rocks to trap him by one arm. Eventually, realizing that the most drastic of action was vital if he were going to live, he amputated his arm below the elbow, using a knife that wasn't very sharp. In an amazing display of tenacity, he then climbed out of the canyon and walked until he found some other hikers and was rescued.
His book about the events, aptly and wryly titled, "Between a Rock and a Hard Place," tells his story, and provided the material for Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy to write a screenplay.
Yes, it's the same Danny Boyle who directed "Slumdog Millionaire" and "Trainspotting," among other fine movies.
Many critics have heaped praise on the film, but I consider it an exercise in voyeurism, a titillating dramatic retelling of a horrible, stomach-turning event. The cinematography, by Anthony Dod Mantle and Enrique Chediak, is remarkable, even as it shows the beauty of the Utah wild lands, contrasting with the pain–physical, mental and emotional–that Ralston lives with as he ponders his choices, remembers his family and friends, fights off hysteria. James Franco is excellent in the role, showing a wonderful, rollicking, Devil-may-care attitude as he goes deeper and deeper into the desert.
Early on, he meets a couple of young women, also hikers, and he offers directions and advice with joy that he has met people who may like the outdoors and the freedom it offers as much as he does. The actresses, each with with strong pedigrees (Amber Tamblyn is the daughter of actor Russ; Kate Mara is the grand-daughter of NFL owners Tim Mara and Art Rooney Jr.) and considerable acting style, though they don't have the opportunity to show much here.
But the movie itself gets as painful as afternoons in the desert heat. We all know what is going to happen, and that it's going to be bloody. The only tension is waiting for it to occur, and sometimes quashing the desire to speak to the screen. "Get on with it! It's getting very boring," is what you want to say.
127 Hours opens today on several screens
—Joe
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FYI — Kate Mara’s great-grandfather is Art Rooney, Sr. not Jr.